Minister for the Environment Dick Roche has insisted that any change to the electoral commission's work would be a return to the "partisan" days when constituency revision was seen as an attempt to favour the government of the day.
He clashed with a number of Independent TDs who called for the commission's terms of reference to be changed, because they favoured the larger parties and ran against smaller parties and independent deputies.
Ending the second stage debate of the Electoral Amendment Bill, which revises a number of Dáil constituencies and increases the total from 42 to 43, Mr Roche said it was "outrageous" that two deputies should "traduce" an "independent commission made up of recognised individuals who have served this House and the State well".
Marian Harkin (Ind, Sligo-Leitrim) accused the Minister of being outrageous. Ms Harkin said Mr Roche had grossly misrepresented her comments. She had called for changes in the terms of reference of the commission, not changes in the commission's recommendations.
Dr Jerry Cowley (Ind, Mayo) said that "electoral reform is a misnomer. Electoral gerrymandering would be a more correct description of what is going on here."
Seán Haughey (FF, Dublin North-Central) said even though his constituency would go from four to three seats, "I am happy in the knowledge that this will happen as the result of clear, methodical and pragmatic analysis".
Independent TDs called for six-seater constituencies, and claimed the changes favoured the larger parties. Concern was also raised about the division of Leitrim into two constituencies, which meant there would be no resident TD in the county.
Ms Harkin said splitting Leitrim was the soft option, and asked why it was chosen. "Is it because it is the smallest county or because its population dropped". But the Minister said that they could not adopt an "a la carte attitude".
"Since the report of the first commission in 1977 the Oireachtas has never changed the commission's recommendations presented in the form of a Bill. To reject some of the commission's recommendations now would be to revert to the partisan position of the past when constituency revisions were perceived as being framed to secure political advantage for the government of the day."
